Hands-on Impressions of Star Wars Jedi Starfighter

Hands-on Impressions When it comes to games that seriously didn't get their due, I can hands-down say that LucasArts' Star Wars Starfighter didn't get the love it deserved. Now, I promise not to go deep into the martyr mode, and I promise not to get angry (wait, am I really saying this?), but hey, this game was deep, innovative, and while it did have its fair share of problems (as all games do) and it wasn't the most creatively designed title, Starfighter was surprisingly engaging on several levels. And, I might add, it's the best Star Wars game to hit consoles in some time, including a certain GameCube title that launched in November.

Ooooh, that'll spark some controversy. Ah well, the point is Star Wars Jedi Starfighter is coming down the pike very soon, and as a sequel and a tie-in to the movie, this one is going to get Star Wars fans revved. LucasArts' latest effort in the space-combat arena is a formidable effort, building on the success of its Starfighter. Just about everything is somehow linked to or in some way tied into the upcoming Star Wars movie (Attack of the Clones), or relates to the previous Starfighter.

"Star Wars Jedi Starfighter is a continuation of the story started in the first Star Wars Starfighter game," said Jedi Starfighter's Director Daron Stinnett. "It is set 10 years later and involves Nym, Reti, along with a few cameos from other Starfighter characters. There also are a lot of returning secondary characters who are part of Nym's band of pirates. We also have characters from the Star Wars Episode II film and a few new ones as well.

"We also have another angle this time around with the Star Wars: Episode II film connection. Much of what players see in the game will be new to them and give them a first look at elements from the film at the time of the game's launch in March. After they see the Episode II film in May, portions of the game could take on new meaning for the players, and they could replay portions of the game with the added knowledge of relevant events from the movie."

As we have previous reported, players take on at two characters in Jedi Starfighter, one less than in the first one. And for those who have played the first game, Jedi Adi Gallia, and the space pirate Nym, should be quite familiar. The first thing we noticed about this game is that the spacecraft design is far more likeable than in Starfighter. I don't know how many times I said that I'd rather fly an original Star Wars craft than an Episode I craft, but nobody heard my cries, or rather, the folks at LucasArts had to make us wait, like they do with everything. Cutting to the chase, Gallia's craft is a notch up from the goofy, old '50s-looking Starfighter crafts, with a modern triangular design culminating in sharp angles, a simple shape with an even slightly smaller size than you'd expect.

In case you hadn't noticed, the good guys' ships continually upgrade in shape and style until they eventually reach (or will reach) the state of the original Star Wars movie, A New Hope. So, what's so fantastic about this new fighter is not just its good looks, but its agility, strength, and Force powers.

"The star of our show is the Jedi Starfighter itself," said Stinnett. "This new vehicle is used exclusively as a Jedi's personal transport and fighter in Star Wars: Episode II. Its strength is incredible agility and speed. And returning from the first Star Wars Starfighter game is Nym's Havoc bomber with a host of new weapons."

In the first Starfighter, the Dpad was used extensively for controlling your wingmen. The idea had been used before, and it's a good one, but oddly, players didn't need the command their wingmen to beat the game, in fact, I never even used it once. In Jedi Starfighter, players use the Dpad to deploy Force effects, and as early as the first mission, players can get it going on. The Force IS your secondary weapon (when you're flying Adi's ship).

For those unfamiliar with the game, there are at least four Force powers, Force Lighting, Force Shield, Force Reflex -- a time-slowing trick (a la The Matrix), and Force Shockwave radiates a multi-directional energy blast that surges from the ship and attacks close-by enemy ships. In the levels I played, nearly all of these were working, and I must say, very useful indeed.

The most useful of these was Force Lightning, which once deployed attacks as many ships as possible within a certain area. For instance, when a cluster of droid ships or bombers zoom toward you in a close formation, aim toward them, and press the dpad in the right direction and the Circle button, and Bla-blam! You can zoom in to see the ships crawling with lightning and quickly blown to pieces. The attack doesn't usually blast all of the ships into smithereens at equally, instead, usually three of the four will explode, leaving one weakened, and a single blast or two usually finishes the last one off.

The groggy, old Nym flies his powerful and slightly slower-moving Havok Bomber, which enables players to blast away with regular laser shots, drop bombs, which are deployed in the same way as before, sent off in lit-up arches, which are a little harder to aim accurately, and some very interesting mini-missiles, which appeared very powerful indeed.

Another nice set of touches on Jedi Starfighter is that all of the levels are, naturally, brand new, several of which tie into the game, and are spread out about 50/50 between land and space battles. Visually, the game looks similar to the first, comprising lots of highly detailed ships zipping about in monster-sized environments, but I noticed that many of the textures are better looking, sharper, and don't lose resolution when up close. The bigger ships all look as if they've gained about 1,000 or 2,000 polygons each, and this with dozens of crafts buzzing about the skies and ground simultaneously. The better looking models and textures add a lot to the game, which looked good the first time around, but looks especially crisp in this version.

Several nice touches have been added to the targeting system. in Starfighter, players could lock on to a target, and their health would appear in the shape around their ship. In Jedi Starfighter, players see that the modified reticule and aiming system is much more informational. Players can see the shield and hull meters, separately, and they can therefore determine how to strategize better. They can see that their weapons aren't working, or working slowly, or working effectively, and thus decide how to attack, to retreat, or go full force. With bigger ships, players can then deploy the Force Shield, which enables stronger shields when coming in close, and can in some cases, even deflect the enemy's lasers back at them, causing a very economical damage.

For those who haven't been paying attention, the voice actors for returning characters are the same, plus a few extra guys. "We've got, Nym played by Charlie Rocket, Reti by Wally Wingert, and so on," said Stinnett. "For new characters, we tapped the talented of Roger Jackson (the voice of Scream), Sterling James (DJ on Alice radio), and Adrian Zmed as our villain. These and the other actors did an incredible job and are the key to bringing our story and characters to life."

All in all, Jedi Starfighter looks to better its prequel in the every way. It's better looking, more intuitive, and involves the player in ways that the first didn't. If you noticed, I haven't said anything about the framerate, which is mostly because I'm playing an alpha version that's not done yet. We were told that the game will have improved framerates, meaning it will feel faster and more responsive on a consistent basis. At this point, the game has yet to be optimized, and so the game didn't show off this upgrade yet. I'm sure it will happen, and I can't wait to see the improvement.

In the meantime, check out these killer new shots, featuring two-player shots, and totally new areas that haven't been seen before.